It’s rare to enter a shopping centre in Australia and not find a Boost Juice store these days.
However, it wasn’t always that way.
While it’s easy to look at Boost Juice’s Founder, Janine Allis, and her multi-millionaire and businesswoman status and think she already had it made, you’d be wrong. As she openly admits in numerous interviews, it was finding the gap in the market, taking a risk and making mistakes that got her to where she is.
So, let’s look at where Boost Juice started, where they’re at today and what all business owners can learn from this iconic Australian business.
The History of Boost Juice
It all started with a trip to the United States in 1999.
Janine noticed smoothies and fresh juices being consumed by people everywhere she turned, and yet she herself was so frustrated with the limited healthy fast-food options in Australia. At the time, she was on maternity leave with her third son, so came up with a plan she believed would give her flexibility with her growing family, plus provide healthy fast-food options.
Together, from their kitchen table, Janine and her husband Jeff put together a business plan. Janine worked with nutritionists and naturopaths to craft a menu of delicious juices and smoothies, but free of preservatives, and artificial colours and flavourings. The only thing starting her was the bank wouldn’t touch her business plan.
Janine and Jeff sold their home to fund their first King William Street store in 2000, and Janine began putting in 100-hour weeks to get them up and running. This hard work paid off, with demand for their product growing. They soon launched three new stores —two of these in one day!
Soon, Janine and Jeff were signing a contract for 28 leases at Westfield Shopping Centres, making them personally liable for more than $5 million and a deadline of opening all stores within 18 months with a tight budget.
Within 3 years, these stores were not only thriving, but they continued to grow, with Janine purchasing rival chain, Viva Juice. Janine also went on to create and add Salsa’s Fresh Mex Grill, Cibo Espresso and Hatch Chicken Shop to the Retail Zoo group, along with Boost Juice.
Retail Zoo was acquired by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital in 2015.
Boost Juice Today
In 2022, Boost Juice has more than 580 stores in more than 13 different countries, and they reportedly continue to grow. Their annual revenue is estimated to be around $297.6 million.
Boost Juice franchises can be bought from between $337,000 and $507,000, with an ongoing royalty fee of 8% for gross sales and a marketing levy of 3% of gross sales. These funds go back to the retailer group for maintaining the brand name and head office.
What Small Businesses Can Learn from Boost Juice
1. Find the gap in the market.
You do not need a unique product or service to start a business. However, for your business to be successful, having a unique edge will play a big part. How are you different? Why should people choose you over your competitor?
And before you say it, great customer service and experience are not unique selling points. Having an all-Australian team when all your competitors are overseas is, and so is having a 24/7 customer service line — but not just standalone great customer service.
- Are you the only plumber who offers the installation of bidets in your area?
- Does your mechanic workshop offer free loan cars for the time of servicing
and repairs?
- Is your senior hairdresser award-winning for their balayage technique?
Whatever your business is, find your unique selling point and shout it from the rooftops.
2. Create strong branding.
What colour is the Boost Juice logo? Green, that’s right. There is also some orange in there too.
Boost Juice has had strong branding that aligns with their message since the beginning. Their colouring, language and marketing scream healthy, fun and energy. When they use pictures and video, it’s of people enjoying their juices and smoothies on the go, enjoying life and taking breaks from activities. It’s consistent. And that’s why it works.
Now, if your business is lacking in other areas — like not being able to be found easily online or not getting foot traffic —ensuring you have strong branding likely won’t save you anyway. However, if you’re looking for growth from day one and have ticked all your other boxes, visual and language branding is so very important.
3. Diversify your marketing.
In Boost Juice’s Study Kit, the business revealed the business creates a yearly national calendar outlining the details of every campaign they will run throughout the year, including new products, consumer promotions and partnerships. Each campaign targets a different goal in brand awareness or increasing store sales.
Boost Juice’s brand presence stems across radio, television, social media, electronic direct mail (eDMs) to their database, their website and app, and through public relations.
While most small businesses wouldn’t go to the extent of creating such in-depth marketing guides 12 months in advance, what we can take from this is how important it is to not invest our marketing eggs in one basket. If Facebook is down, where can customers find you? What would happen if your website had technical issues — could people contact you? How about people offline — how do they find out about you?
At the very least, any business in 2023 should have a website, Google Business Profile and at least one organic social media presence. It doesn’t have to be tricky either. Digital marketing services, like Localsearch, can make it easy to get everything you need in one place. Simply contact us to have a no-obligation chat.
Disclaimer: Localsearch is not affiliated with Boost Juice or the Retail Zoo group. This article is an observation and analysis of the history and practices of Boost Juice and Retail Zoo.
Resources:
https://www.boostjuice.com.au/about-boost-juice/
https://franchisebusiness.com.au/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-boost-juice-bu/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7354635/Boost-Juice-founder-Janine-Allis-reveals-built-350million-business-kitchen-bench.html
https://franchisebusiness.com.au/bain-capital-acquires-retail-zoo/
https://www.datanyze.com/companies/boost-juice/14619835